When Time meets Love
by rookiereporter
Summary: They are both fated to be together. Clare's watch is close to hitting zero. When it does, she will meet her soul mate. There's only one problem, she's already in love with Jake. What happens when she meets her soul mate for the first time?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: **

**Hey guys! So this is my first fanfiction story. I would love to get you feedback. Especially feedback on grammar, that the number one element of writing I think I need to work on. I want this to kind of be as close to a book as possible, so I am not going to give summaries for each chapter because I want people to catch on as the story goes along. However, I will tell you that this story will be solely from Clare's point of view, and that Clare, Eli, Jake, and the rest of the gang are all high school seniors. There will also be some elements of this story that will go along with the television show. I obviously do not own any of the characters…and I'm hoping that this story will last for 20 chapters.**

**P.S. I got this idea from a picture on Tumblr, and went with it. Enjoy! **

Chapter One:

00011 days, 17 hours, 36 minutes, 45 seconds.

My time is running out.

I only have eleven days until my fate is sealed.

Eleven days until I meet my supposed soul mate.

There's only one problem.

I don't believe that some stupid watch that has been around my wrist since the day that I was born could possibly determine when I am supposed to meet my soul mate.

I am the first of my friends that will meet my "soul mate". They still have at least two years until they meet theirs. My current boyfriend, Jake has one year until he meets his.

Jake and I are considered to be "unfaithfuls". That is, we don't only date our soul mates. We have been childhood friends and we started dating in ninth grade. We knew very well that our times didn't match up, but frankly, we didn't care. I knew that I cared about him and he cared about me and that was all that mattered to us.

Jake can't keep his eyes off my watch. Even now as we are holding hands on the table I see him glance down at my wrist to watch the countdown for a few seconds. I don't care what happens when I see my soul mate. When I do, I will be holding onto Jake's hand—or kissing him—I haven't decided yet.

"So tell me why you can't hang out tonight." Jake asked. He rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand to bring me out of my thoughts and back into his conversation.

"My mom wants to take me shopping."

"For what?"

"An engagement dress."

"Are you serious?"

I squeezed Jake's hand. "I know, I told her he wasn't going to automatically fall in love with me; but she is absolutely determined to make sure that I make a good impression on lover-boy."

Jake grimaced. "Please, don't call him that. I know you're joking but, it just isn't funny."

I kissed him on the cheek. "I know. I'm sorry. I just don't know how to deal with this."

Jake forced a smile. "We'll handle it like we always have" he said. "Together."

I smile back and give him a quick kiss and then get out of the car. I look over to the house next door and see that the for-sale sign has officially been taken down. My mother says she met the woman that was moving in and said that she was "an eccentric heathen."

I took a deep breath before opening the door. I wish I could turn around and run back towards Jake's truck. He was still stalling in front of the house, waiting for me to go inside. I look over my shoulder and wave. Jake waves back to me and gives me a reassuring smile.

I turn around and walk into the house.

"I said no, Helen!"

"I only asked you to take one night off for our appointment."

"And I told you not to schedule them on Thursdays!"

"What is so important that you can't take two hours out of your day to improve your family life?"

"How about working so my family can sustain the life that they are living!"

I slammed the door to announce my arrival and ran up the stairs.

"Great look what you've done, Helen. You made a scene when Clare was here."

This is why I don't believe that the matchmakers are always right. In fact, I believe that the matchmakers don't know anything. My parents are supposedly soul mates, but when they met my father was already in love with someone else. Their parents forced them to marry five months later, and now here they are. My mother is in love with my father and my father is still in love with the girl he planned on running away with.

The matchmakers know nothing about love.

My parents are living proof of that.

I put on my stereo and turned it up as loud as it could go. I knew that it would only be a matter of time until my dad told me to turn it down, but for now I was going to revel in the fact that I could not hear them screaming.

"_These times will try hard to define me…"_

I will not let someone dictate who I am supposed to love.

"_but I will hold my head up high…"_

After I meet my "soul mate" I am going to ask Jake to run away with me.

"_Cause I've seen despair here from the inside, It's gotta one track mind…"_

I can't end up like my parents. I just can't.

"_Now I'm sitting alone here in my bed, I'm waiting for the answers I don't know that I'll get. I cannot stand to look in the mirror I'm failing, I'm telling you these times are hard…"_

"Clare Dianna! Turn it down!"

I reached over and turned down my stereo.

"…_but they will pass."_

I looked at my watch.

11 days, 13 hours, 24 minutes, 57 seconds.

**Since I'm almost finished with my first year at college I'm going to try to update twice a week, but if I can't I will for sure update every friday. Thanks for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**AU: Thank you to everyone who commented on this story, your encouragement means a lot to me.I promise not to do that whole "I'll update as soon as get this many reviews!" that's not my purpose for being on here. I really want to improve my writing in anyway possible. I'm even thinking about writing some Eclare one-shots inspired by songs. I don't think I'll attempt that until I at least have three chapters on this one though! **

**By the way, this story is rated "T" for language, forgot to mention that earlier. Although I don't really like to curse myself, I think it is impossible to accurately portray high school boys without at least some cuss words.**

**Once again I don't own the characters, I also don't the You, Me at Six song and a teensy reminder that this story is in Clare's point of view**

Chapter Two:

00001 days, 01 hours, 07 minutes, 19 seconds

I stare at my watch and take a deep breath as the seconds continue ticking down. Like a steady heartbeat, once the ticking stops life will cease to exist.

I look at the dress that is hanging on the back of my chair. I convinced my mother not to make me wear some sparkly and gaudy dress when I meet my soul mate. I chose a strapless dark blue sundress and will wear a white sweater over it. Maybe if he thinks I'm too much of a prude he won't want to marry me.

One could only hope.

I pick up the picture of Jake and I that sits on my nightstand and smile. Tears come to my eyes as I trace his smiling face. We were so happy last summer, blissfully ignoring the green lights around each other's wrists counting down our fate.

We decided not to run away. Although the matchmakers don't know what they are talking about when they match us, they do have scary good accuracy when it comes to actually meeting your soul mate. As soon as all the numbers hit zero, you look up and you meet "the one".

This is the reason Jake and I decided not to run away. We realized no matter how random of a place we chose to run away to, I would inevitably meet my soul mate. However, once I do meet my soul mate we are leaving the next day. In a year we are going to have to go through the same thing with Jake's soul mate. I am already steaming with jealously for some girl I have never met.

God, I hate this. Why can't we just choose who we are supposed to be with? How can a machine magically match us together with someone and calculate the time we will meet for the first time?

00000 days, 23 hours, 56 minutes, 28 seconds

Fantastic. I'm going to meet my soul mate during lunch. How romantic.

00000 days, 02 hours, 00 minutes, 45 seconds

I chew on my lip. I still can't believe I'm wearing this stupid dress. It makes it so obvious to everyone that today is my first meeting day; or as Jake like to call it, "D-day".

Jake has been hovering over me all day. He keeps looking at faces, as if he can guess who is my soul mate and he can pummel them to death so I can stay with him.

I've been getting a lot of congratulations and hugs today. My best friend, Alli came over and helped me get ready. She is a faithful, and in a year to the day she will meet her soul mate. Although I don't believe in this soul mate watch, I really hope that her match is being faithful to her. She deserves the best.

The bell rings to end fourth period and I look down at my watch.

00000 days, 1 hours, 1 minute, 54 seconds

Jake is waiting for me outside of class and immediately takes my wrist to check the time.

"Shit."

"At least I won't meet him until the end of lunch." I say and put my hand on his cheek to get him to take his eyes off my watch and look at me. "We can have one more soul mateless lunch together."

Jake forces his smile. "I don't know if I can be with you when you meet him, Clare. All I can think about is punching him in his smug little face when he sees you."

I smile at him and slip my hand into his. "What makes you think he'll be excited to see me?"

"Because you're hot." Jake said. "I mean, look at you. Even when you're dressed like you are about to go to mass and yet you are somehow still freaking hot."

"Thanks, Jake. But I promise you, there is no possible way that my soul mate and I will fall in love. This whole matchmaking thing is preposterous. I mean, look at my parents, they are miserable and yet they were matched together."

"Yeah, but look at my parents." Jake said. "They are desperately in love with each other and they were matched."

"But they didn't date anyone before." I countered

Jake grimaced. "I was hoping you wouldn't remember that."

I tugged on his arm and pulled him down for a kiss. "We'll get through this like we always have…"

"Together." He murmured and kissed me again.

000000 days, 0 hours, 3 minutes, 12 seconds

I can feel Jake's hand tremble slightly in mine as we stand beside his car in the Degrassi parking lot. Alli is trying to tame my curly hair and fix my smudged makeup from letting a few tears escape.

"It's going to go great, Clare. He's crazy if he doesn't fall in love with you." Alli said.

I could feel Jake shoot her a glare. "But there's no way you'll fall in love with him. Jake is really the one for you."

"Nice save." I mutter.

00000 days, 0 hours, 1 minute, 49 seconds

"God I wish he could just get here so that I could tell him that there's no chance for us."

"I wish your watch would glitch and wouldn't ever have to hit zero." Jake mumbled.

I looked up at him and forced a smile. I gave him a kiss on the cheek. "We'll get through this."

"Together."

37 seconds….

I begin looking around despite my dread to meet him. Who could it be? Is it the scrawny kid with thick black-rimmed glasses and curly brown hair? If so it will be simple to tell him to hit the road.

23 seconds…

Or maybe it's the kid with the guitar strapped to his back. Jake isn't a very good singer but maybe if my soul mate can he could sing at Jake and I's wedding. That would be an interesting turn of events.

15 seconds…

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

10 seconds…

"_Don't hold your breath I'm not losing sleep over you, I'm Mr. Reckless with a capital R"_

I open my eyes again and watch a black hearse pull in besides Jakes truck. The windows were rolled up but I could still hear the lyrics to his music clearly.

"_The best you never had, the best you never…"_

5 seconds…

I heard the hearse's door slam shut and heavy steps walk around to Jake's tailgate.

"No." Jake said and dropped my hand. "No this has got to be some sick joke."

"What Jake?" I asked, trying to grasp his hand again.

"Your sole mate is Dr. Doom."

0 seconds….

My watch flashes red, signaling that I am in the presence of my soul mate. I see a pair of black combat boots and slowly look up. I see dark skinny jeans, a grey band t-shirt and a black leather jacket.

My eyes wander to the stranger's wrist. His watch is red and blinking quickly, at the same pace as mine. I swallow and force myself to look fate in the eyes.

Harsh green eyes meet mine.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey Guys! So sorry this took so long. Moving back home for the summer is a pain. But I'm finally moved in and have some free time and since I've made you wait for so long I'm going to put up two more chapters tomorrow and Friay, and this chapter is longer than my first two**** Things have calmed down quite a bit so I will be updating every Tuesday and Friday.**

**Enjoy!**

00000 days, 00 hours, 00 minutes, 00 seconds

So there he was.

My soul mate was standing right in front of me, glaring at me while I was holding Jake's hand tightly. Jake seemed to know him, and it was obvious by the way that Jake was trying to subtly pull me behind him he did not like my soul mate at all.

"Well, aren't you going to say anything? She's your soul mate after all." Alli said to break the silence.

I was finally able to break the hold the boy's glaring green eyes had on me and look over at Jake. His jaw was set and the way that he stared at my soul mate made me cringe—it looked like he was restrain himself from killing him.

"She's not my soul mate." The boy growled. I looked up at the boy one more time to see him looking at me up and down with the same look that Jake was giving him. "She never will be."

My soul mate walked past us quickly, bumping shoulders with Jake even though Jake was slightly taller.

I stood there feeling numb. I met my soul mate and he hated me without even knowing me. No one has ever hated me, ever. So when someone comes along and hates me without even knowing me, it stings.

"I am so glad you're with Jake, Clare-bear, because your soul mate sucks."

Jake put his arm around my waist and pulled me close to his side. " Yeah, I am too, Alli." I replied as I watched the boy walk up the stairs and into Degrassi.

"So I guess that I'll see you after theatre?"

I smiled at Jake. "Of course, who else is going to walk me to Biology?"

"Your soul mate." Jake grumbled. "I can't believe it's Doctor Doom."

I stopped walking. "Jake, you are my soul mate. Not some rando."

"Glad we're on the same page, Princess."

I stiffened when I heard the voice behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see my soul mate still glaring at me.

"Well, are you going to walk inside or are you and your soul mate going to block the entrance to the theatre?"

My heart dropped. "Wait. You're not in theatre. You weren't here at all during the first week of school."

He smirked. "Guess again, Princess. I'm the director and the screenwriter. Ms. Dawes let me take last week off so that I could perfect my vision."

"Oh, well I thought your play was beautiful when I first read it." I said truthfully.

He raised his eyebrow "Thanks." He said through his teeth.

I stepped out of his way and he walked in the doors without another comment.

"What was that all about, Clare?"

"What was what all about?"

"That whole 'I thought your play was beautiful' comment."

"I was just being honest. Just because he's…"

I realized that I didn't even know his name—my mother would be ecstatic to hear that little tidbit. "…My soul mate," I continued. "Doesn't change the fact that I loved his play."

"Well it should." Jake said. "Forget it, Clare. Have fun in Theatre with your stupid soul mate."

"Jake…" I said as I reached out for his hand. He pulled away and started walking away.

"Crap." I muttered and walked into the theatre.

"Ah, Miss Edwards, so glad you could finally join us." Ms. Dawes said. "Come, I would like for you to meet our wonderful director. The two of you have much to talk about."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "Yes, Ms. Dawes."

I walked past the lighting crew and the people trying out for the dramatic and coveted roles of June and Edmond and to the front of the stage where my soul mate—whatever his name is—and Ms. Dawes were standing.

"Clare, this is Elijah. Elijah, this is Clare, she will be your set designer."

Elijah stuck out his hand for me to shake. "I go by Eli."

I was shocked at his civil behavior. "Nice to meet you." I said and shook his hand.

Ms. Dawes gasped when she looked down at our wrists. "Gentle People, we have a pair of soul mates on our crew!" she announced.

Eli cringed and dropped my hand.

"This is wonderful. What a wonderful and talented pairing. The matchmakers did an excellent job when they matched the two of you."

I felt myself blush and I glanced over at Eli. He was staring at the ground and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Go ahead and sit down, Miss Edwards, or should I say the future Mrs. Goldsworthy."

I cringed. "We're not engaged Ms. Dawes."

Ms. Dawes smiled slightly. "Of course you're not."

I sat down in the front row and waited for Ms. Dawes to begin.

"I'll let our Director take it from here. Mr. Goldsworthy, if you please…"

"Thank you, Ms. Dawes." Eli said. He faced the small audience confidently. "So most of you sitting in the front row are auditioning for the roles of June and Edmond, am I correct?"

Eli paused for a moment and looked around. "If you are, that's fine. Just know that you have to be absolutely perfect."

Eli jumped onto the stage and began to pace. "These characters are the most important part of the play. If you think for a second I'm going to let a mediocre actor with 'endless amounts of potential' portray one of the main characters, you're wrong. If you so much as pronounce a syllable incorrectly I will kick you off the stage. I demand perfection, and my kind of perfection is the hardest to achieve. Everyone Understand?"

Everyone was silent in the theatre. Ms. Dawes looked at Eli with a raised eyebrow and an amused smile.

"Great, let's get started." Eli clapped his hands together and hopped off the stage and sat in-between Ms. Dawes and myself on the front row.

"First up is," he looked down at the clipboard. "Becky Baker."

Becky walked up and smiled sweetly at Eli. "I'll be auditioning for the role of June."

"No you won't." Eli said quickly.

"What, but you haven't even heard me run lines."

"I don't need to. You don't have the right…shall we say presence, to play June. But you—"

"That's why the call it acting." Becky interrupted. "Because you transform into another person."

"Well you can audition to transform into Delilah, June's mother." Eli replied with his fists clenched around his rolled up script.

Becky sighed. "Fine."

I slunk into my seat. This was going to possibly the longest hour of my life.

Eli had rejected every single girl who auditioned for the role of June. There was always something wrong with each girl.

"June doesn't have braces."

"June would never say it that way."

"June doesn't stand that way."

"Dear God, why in the world did you think you could actually play the part of June? Is this some sort of a joke? Please tell me you aren't serious."

So far Eli had managed to reject twelve girls that auditioned and eight of those twelve girls ran off the stage crying.

Good to know my soul mate is a sensitive person.

"Miss Edwards, may I have a word with you?"

"Of course, Ms. Dawes."

I walked up to Ms. Dawes who was standing at the back of the small theatre by the soundboard.

"What do you need?"

"I was talking to Mr. Williams and he said that you were well beyond the talent required for 12th grade English. We talked it over and you can move to my Advanced 12th grade English class without having to move your schedule around. All you would have to do is come to my class instead of Mr. Williams'. What do you say?"

"Um, sure I would love to, Ms. Dawes." I replied. "As long as you have room for me."

Ms. Dawes smiled "Of course we have room, Clare. We were actually in desperate need of another student since we have and odd number of students and must have an even number so that each student can achieve the greatness they are capable of."

I smiled. "I'll be there."

"Wonderful, see you tomorrow Ms. Edwards."

I walked out of the theatre to see Jake waiting for me. He looked up and flashed me his sweet smile.

"You're not mad at me?" I asked.

Jake shook his head. "No, I know that you would never date Doctor Doom. I actually laughed out loud at the thought of it in woodshop. I mean, you two would look ridiculous together."

I smiled, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Jake put his hands on my waist and pulled me close. "Good thing we're both good looking, we make for one hell of a couple."

Jake kissed me and tried to deepen it. I pushed on his chest and turned my head to get him to stop.

"Jake, not now, we're in school. We could get in trouble."

Jake rolled his eyes. "You can be such a prude sometimes, Clare. I mean we have been dating for almost two years now. You would think that you would be okay with making out in the hall."

"I'm sorry." I replied softly.

"Whatever. Come on, we're going to be late for Biology."

Jake took my hand and began to lead me through the crowded hallway. I glanced up and saw Eli glaring slightly at Jake and when his eyes found me he frowned.

Why couldn't I have just found my soul mate on my own? I could've avoided so much drama if it were possible.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey guys! I'm posting another chapter just like I promised. There will be one more tomorrow, and then it will be back to what I want the schedule to be (Tuesdays and Fridays). **

**I would like to apologize for my previous chapters, there are QUITE a few mistakes that I didn't catch even after reading it three times. But that is why I continue writing, to get better right? I hope to have a chapter in this story with absolutely no typos/grammar mistakes/spelling mistakes. So keep your fingers crossed for that day and if it happens we can throw a party! Yay!**

**ALSO! I would like to say a special thank you to "The Sunshine Ray" for your continuous support of this story. Thank you so much for taking the time to read each chapter AND post a comment to each one as well.**

Chapter Four:

I walked into school holding Jake's hand. He was half leading me, half dragging me towards Degrassi. We had stayed up most of the night fighting over Eli. Turns out the "eccentric heathens" were none other than the Goldswothy's. I hadn't met them yet, but it was inevitable since Eli was my soul mate. Jake was upset and said that it would be only a matter of time before I would choose Eli over him.

We almost broke up that night. Almost.

I snapped out of my daze and stopped short of the Degrassi steps and pulled Jake towards me. I rose up on my toes and kissed him. I could feel him smile against my lips and lean down so that I could stand flat-footed. This time I let Jake deepen the kiss—even let him put his hands under my shirt a little—I felt like I owed him that much after everything that had happened.

I pulled away to catch my breath and Jake looked down at me with a prideful smirk on his face. I knew that he was happy I let him kiss me like that in public. He was also proud that he left me panting after our kiss.

"I'm happy we didn't break up."

"Me too, Clare."

"You don't have to worry about me falling for Eli, Jake. He's rude and arrogant and frustrating and just horrible to be around in general. I love you and we can get through this like we always have."

Jake smiled "Together." He finished.

Jake waited patiently beside my locker while I got my novel and spiral out for my English class with Ms. Dawes.

"So Ms. D just randomly asked you to be in her English class?"

"Yeah, she said she had talked it over with Mr. Williams and they agreed that I needed to be in a more challenging course. Is it lame to say I'm kind of excited?"

Jake shrugged. "Definitely. But you're into all that English stuff. I just wish you didn't care that much about school as you do because maybe we could be in more than one class together."

"I'm sorry, I didn't even think at the time that transferring into Ms. Dawes class would mean that we would one less class together."

"It's whatever. Come on, I'll walk you to your new class."

Jake took my books in one hand and held my hand with the other. We received all kinds of looks. There were looks of confusion, since word of Eli and I being matched had gotten around school. I was sure that there were rumors of Jake and I breaking up or running away. I knew that Alli was already on top of that though. She was going around school gathering the gossip and setting the record straight as she went along. She would give me a full report at lunch.

"So, Jake, since this has been a crazy few days I was thinking that we should go on a date on Fri—"

"Jake, my man!"

Jake handed me my books and left me standing in the hallway to go talk to his best friend. Mo. He didn't even look back as they rounded the corner and went out of sight.

"Never mind." I muttered.

I walked into Ms. Dawes' class a few minutes before the end of passing period and walked up to her desk.

"Ah, Miss Edwards, so good to see you. There is an open seat two seats from the front."

"Thank you Ms. Dawes."

I sat down in the seat Ms. Dawes had recommended and played with the hem of my sundress to keep myself busy. I was ashamed to admit it, but I hated change and I hated the unknown. This class happened to be both. What was I thinking? Why in the world did I agree to transferring into this class? I should have stayed in my old one, even if I was falling asleep every day because I had already read the books in the syllabus and there was nothing that Mr. Williams' said about those books that was a new concept for me.

The bell rang and brought me out of my thoughts.

"Attention, Gentle People," Ms. Dawes began. "Now that Miss Edwards has decided to join our class we can now do what I had originally had in mind for this class."

The door open and everyone turned their attention towards it. Eli stood there and smirked for a second before walking towards his seat.

"Wonderful to see you, Mr. Goldsworthy, but next time please make sure that you arrive before bell."

"Yes, Ms. Dawes."

Eli sat walked to my row and sat behind me. I clenched my hands as tightly as I could to keep them from shaking. I willed myself to take deep breaths in order to avoid an anxiety attack in the middle of class—and in front of Eli.

"Now that we are all present I will tell you how the rest of our year is going to look. I have reviewed samples of your best work and matched you with a partner that not only is on the same level of writing as you, but also a writer that has something that you need to work on. I will hand you your partner's folder so that you can be familiar with your partner's work.

"Elijah and Clare, since you are the two best writers in class, you will be our first pair. Just like Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes."

"Sylvia Plath killed herself." I muttered. Probably because she was matched with Ted Hughes.

"I'm confident that your partnership will not have the same fate. " Ms. Dawes replied.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. My life had been completely turned around since meeting Eli. I was hoping that I could at least have normalcy in English class, now Eli had taken that from me too.

The bell rang and I quickly gathered my things and walked towards the door. I opened Eli's folder and began skimming the top page.

_She was the moon, and he was stuck on earth. Doomed to only gaze at her from a distance. Sometimes he would reach out, as if trying to will his arm to stretch into the sky and selfishly pull her down to his level…_

My shoulder collided with the doorframe and someone else.

"I'm so sorry I—"

I looked up and saw Eli smirking at me. He pushed past me and turned to face me.

"See you in theater, Princess."

"My name is Clare."

"Right. Just try not to make out with your boyfriend in front of the doors again."

"Why do you have to be so—"

Eli held up his hand, "Save your insult for fifth period, I'm going to be late for class."

He walked away from me and I watched as his red watch slowly dulled as the distance between us grew. I looked down at my own watch, why did it have to be Eli? Out of everyone in the world, why did I have to be matched with him?


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry this is so late, work has got me CRAZY busy. I had to work a double three days in a row!**

***Random fact***** it took me so long to figure it out, but the song in the teennick promo is "atomic love song" by Readygoes. It took me soo long to find it but I was successful and that's all that matters. **

**Anyways, enjoy chapter five!**

Chapter five:

"NEXT!"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. We had been searching for two weeks now and Eli still had not decided on a girl to play June. I tried my best to cover up a yawn as the next girl timidly approached the stage. Jake and I had been fighting late into the night this week. He was angry about how much time I had been spending with Eli. I kept telling him that it wasn't my choice, Ms. Dawes made us spend lunch together to talk about the props and set design for his play and we stayed an hour after school one day to work on our English papers.

"You've got to be kidding me. NEXT!"

I looked down at my watch. Only thirty more minutes until this class got out and I could see Jake. We had a date planned tonight. Which I think will do us some good. Our last date was the weekend before I met Eli. Three weeks is much too long to go without going on a date with your boyfriend.

"Oh come on. NEXT!"

"There is no one next, Eli." I grumbled. "You have officially rejected every senior girl and half of the juniors. If you keep this up we are going to have to beg some freshman to play the part."

"I wouldn't have to reject everyone that came on stage if they were decent actors. The girl who plays June has to be perfect. This play has to be perfect."

"There were plenty of excellent actors but you rejected them before they could deliver more than three lines. Just admit it, Eli, you have absolutely no idea what you are looking for."

"I know exactly what I'm looking for." Eli yelled. "And it sure as hell isn't some bimbo that is only trying out because she heard that Drew Torres is playing the lead."

I rolled my eyes. "Not every girl is trying out for that reason. Honestly Eli have some faith in people."

"Oh I have faith in people, Edwards." He said lowly, "I have faith that they will fail to meet expectations."

I rolled my eyes. "Eli, stop being so melodramatic. Your script is great, even a mediocre actress couldn't mess up it's meaning."

Eli glared at me for a moment, and I shifted under his scrutiny.

"You do it." He said.

I blinked. "Do what?"

"You try out for the rule of June."

"Me? I can't, I'm the set designer."

Eli shrugged. "Imogen can take over for you."

"What if I don't want to play June?"

"I didn't say that you had the part. I just told you try out."

"Why do you want me to?"

"Why do you not want to?"

"Because I don't like being the center of attention."

"Well you're in luck. It's only the two of us in here." He said as he gestured to the empty auditorium. "Come on, Clare. You already know the lines for tryouts. What's the big deal?"

I chewed on my lip. I guess there wouldn't be too much harm in running lines. It's not like I would get the part, I'm only the set designer. I'm supposed to stay in the background, in more ways than one.

"Fine."

Eli smirked and gestured to the stage. "The stage awaits you."

Eli sat on the front row as I made my way to center stage.

"Ready when you are." He said.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I cannot believe he talked me into this. I just had to deliver three lines. Three lines and I could get off the stage and forget this even happened.

"Edmond, can I stay here tonight?" I began shakily. "I got into a fight with Lisa again. I tried not to Ed, I really tried. I came home on time and went straight to my room and started working on my homework and she just came in and started yelling at me."

I began walking off stage; red with embarrassment that Eli teased me into making a fool of myself on the stage.

"Wait, Clare."

"What?"

"Just run two more lines."

"Edmond's line is next."

"I'll read for him."

"Okay."

I walked back up to center stage and waited for Eli to join me. He handed me a script and stood in front of me, blocking some of the lights and the door to the theatre.

"Reread the last line and we'll go from there."

"I came home on time and went straight to my room and started working on my homework and she just came in and stated yelling at me."

"Junie, she didn't do anything to you, did she? She only yelled at you, right?"

Eli's voice had taken on such a sincere tone that it took me off guard. I looked at him and watched his brow furrow as he gripped the script tightly. My trance was broken when he looked up at me.

"She only yelled at you, right?" he repeated.

"Yes, of course she only yelled at me. You're right, Edmond, I was just being dramatic, maybe that's why Lisa doesn't like me very much."

"You're lying."

"What? Ed, no I'm—"

"You're lying to me, Junie." Eli said as he took a step towards me. He was delivering the lines so well it was almost as if he had said them to someone in real life. "I've known you since we were five. I know when you are lying to me. Tell me the truth."

"She hit me." I whispered. "She hit me because she heard we were still dating."

"She hit you because of me."

"I don't care though, Edmond. I really don't. You're my soul mate, not Jason. Let's just run away together. You still have two more years, we can run away and deal with your soul mate when the time comes. Please Ed. Let's run away."

The bell rang and Eli took the script away from me and hopped off the stage.

"See you on Monday, Edwards. I'll email my English paper to you when I get home."

"Okay, bye Eli."

I shook off the weirdness that Eli had left me with and walked out of the theatre to see Jake waiting for me.

"Hey, babe."

I tried to hide my grimace. I hated being called babe. "Hey, Jake. Are we still on for our date?"

Jake took my hand and guided me through the crowed hall to our next class. "Of course. Just make sure that you wear a hot dress. Your parents aren't going to be home right?"

I chewed on my lip for a moment. Jake was getting impatient with me since we hadn't had sex yet even though we've been dating for almost two years. There's just something in me that screams stop whenever our makeout sessions start going that way. I love Jake, I really do, but I don't know if I want to have sex with him just yet. And I can't figure out what's stopping me.

"Of course. I'll be waiting for you at six."

…

I smoothed the dark green dress I had picked out, it wasn't formfitting or short like Jake normally liked, but I had found it and really thought I looked pretty in it. It showed a bit of cleavage due to the off the shoulder straps and the sweetheart neckline, and ended about an inch above my knees.

I heard the doorbell ring and quickly ran my fingers through my curls to make them less tight. I quickly ran down the stairs and grabbed the black heels that were lying by the door. I opened the door without looking as I wiggled into the heel.

"Fashionably late as always, you can make up for it by taking me to that new sushi place that opened up on bell. "

"Um, Clare…"

I snapped my head up when I realized the person knocking was not Jake. Eli stood by the door holding a plastic container. His watch was blinking red quickly and unevenly. I looked down at mine and saw the same red hue, but a different blinking pattern. Weird, I thought ours matched.

"Sorry Eli, I thought you were Jake. What do you need?"

Eli swallowed and handed me the plastic container. Your mom told mine that you were going to be home alone tonight, and she wanted to make sure that you had a good meal to eat. But you are obviously going out so—"

"I'll still take it." I said. "It will serve as a fantastic late night snack. Tell your mom I said thank you."

I turned to go put the plastic container in the fridge.

"Clare?"

I turned around to see him still standing in the doorway.

"Yes?"

"He's an idiot for keeping you waiting. Especially in that dress."

Despite my best efforts I felt myself blush and looked down to hide it from Eli.

"Thank you, I—"

I looked back up to see that Eli had already left my front porch. I shook my head and put the container in the fridge. I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV to wait for Jake to pick me up.

…

I took off my makeup and pulled my hair back off my face with a headband. I unzipped my dress and let it fall to the floor as I stepped out of it.

I can't believe he ditched me.

I sat on my bed and ate the Chicken Alfredo Mrs. Goldsworthy had made me as I read Eli's paper. He was such a beautiful writer. I wish I could convey that kind of emotion in my stories.

I got out my phone and texted Eli.

_Hey Eli, I finished reading your paper and made comments on the Google doc, just make the small corrections I recommended and you should be good. Tell your mom that the meal she made was wonderful. _

He texted me back a few minutes later.

_Great. Thanks Edwards. I have a few new ideas for the set in act three. Do you think you can stay for an hour after school Monday to go over them? I'll be sure to tell her, but I don't really consider 9:00 to be apart of the late night. You more of a morning person? By the way, I don't think I got your paper, do you think you could resend it?_

_Yeah that should be fine. Although I am more of a morning person, I ate it now because Jake never showed up for our date. I actually never sent you a paper, I am completely stuck on what to write about._

_Sorry to hear that. But it makes for some great writing material._

_Me too. What does?_

_Him not showing up. Write about that._

I bit my lip. That was insanely personal. Although the assignment was to write about something that defined us as a person, I still couldn't do that. I guess I could write about school and getting good grades. That was the safe route, that was my route. There was no way I could write about Jake and have Eli read it, or Ms. Dawes.

I quickly wrote up my paper about school and sent it to Eli. He was going to hate it. I hated it. It was a sloppy paper. I didn't care though. All I could think about was how Jake was becoming more distant, and Eli was becoming less despicable.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I am so so so sorry that I have not updated in a week! No excuses. Please forgive me and enjoy chapter six!**

Chapter Six:

I stood on the sidewalk staring at Degrassi. I would rather be anywhere but here. Jake had called me and apologized for skipping out on our date. He said that he lost track of time hanging out with Drew. Which, of course meant he was getting high with Drew. I didn't call him out on it, we were already having enough troubles and I did not need him to think I was this needy and pathetic girlfriend.

Then there was Eli. He had not even commented on my paper. It was due today so I had to print it without any help or input from him. We hadn't talked since Friday, not even about the play. At least we weren't talking about the audition. I must have been worse than I thought.

"Ready for school, Clare-bear?" Alli asked as she linked her arm through mine.

"No." I mumbled.

"Well you should be. You look hot today, embrace it and show Jake how much of an idiot he was for ditching you on Friday."

"And boy was he an idiot."

Alli and I turned around to see Jake standing behind us. He gave me the smile that had won me over when he asked me out years ago.

"I'll let you two work things out." Alli said. "See you government, Clare."

Jake waited for Alli to get out of hearing range and looked down at me. "You really do look great, Clare."

"Thank you."

I turned around and started walking towards the steps. I could feel the tears form in my eyes and I was not about to let Jake see me cry. I was too stubborn to let him know just how much he had hurt me.

"Oh come on, babe."

He said as he pulled on the crook of my elbow and pulled me towards him. I squirmed to get out of his grip but he only held on tighter.

"Clare, I said I was sorry. It was one stupid date. We've gone on hundreds before. We can just go on another one this weekend. You can even wear the same outfit that you were going to wear last Friday. It'll be like it never happened."

"Jake, let go of me."

"Not until you accept my apology."

"Jake—"

"Clare."

Jake and I both looked over at Eli, who was standing two steps below us. A smirk was plastered on his face as he glared at Jake.

"Do you think that you can give me my mother's plastic container? She's helping my dad out at the radio station with the feed the homeless baking marathon."

Jake whipped his head back to me. "He came over?"

"His mom wanted to make sure I had something to eat since my parents were away on Friday."

"Why didn't you—"

"Anyways, can you still stay after school for a while?" Eli interrupted.

Jake's hold on me had gotten tighter and I whimpered slightly. "Sure, it's only for an hour, right?"

"Well actually, I need you to stay longer. I think we need to work out some details in Edmond's house. It's just too conventional, and his parents are the opposite of that. And Edmond's room isn't messy enough, he is a hoarder after all. Oh and—"

"That sounds like a lot of things to work on, Eli, how long is it going to take?" I closed my eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath to keep from crying out in pain from Jake's grip.

Eli's eyes flickered down to Jake's hand on my forearm then back to my eyes.

"It's going to last at least two hours."

"I'm not waiting two hours for you, babe."

"I can drive you." Eli responded without glancing at Jake. "We do live next door to each other."

I bit my lip in pain. "I guess, I—"

"Hey, asshole, let her go. She's obviously in pain."

Jake quickly released me and stepped down to Eli's level.

"Listen, freak. Stay the hell away from my girl. Got it?"

Eli lifted his chin up to prove he was not intimidated. "That's going to be hard, since she's cast in the lead role for my play."

"What?" I screeched. "Eli I did not want the part, I only ran lines with you because I thought that it was going to be a one time deal."

"So did I" Eli responded by looking over Jake's shoulder at me. "But when we were running lines I realized that you would be the perfect June. It would be stupid of me not to cast you."

"Eli…"

The bell rang and Eli smirked. "It's been great talking with the two of you, really, but I've got to get to class. See you in third period, Edwards."

Eli walked past Jake and into the school. I looked up at Jake and saw him glaring at me.

"What the hell was that all about, Clare?"

"Jake, I—"

"You tried out for his stupid play?"

"I didn't know I was. I mean, he asked me to read a few lines after everyone had left, but I thought it was just a one time deal. I didn't think he was actually going to cast me—"

"Of course he was going to make you the lead role!" Jake's voice was rising and I felt myself shrinking. There were so many kids who were watching us, as if waiting for the unfaithfuls to finally break up.

"Jake, it's not a big deal."

"But it is, Clare!" Jake seemed to notice the crowd that had gathered around us and pulled me towards the garden.

"Jake, Jake, I need to get class."

"Class can wait."

"Jake, I don't understand, why are you over—"

Jake whipped around and pointed his finger at me. "I am not overreacting, Clare. Eli is a freak who has always been jealous of me since our freshman year."

"What are you talking about, Jake? There is no way he has been here since grade nine. He just moved in next door."

"Because his parents finally took the hint and moved away. They used to live three houses down from mine, Clare."

"How come I haven't seen him until this year?"

Jake glared at the floor.

"You, you knew, didn't you?" I gasped as I backed away from him. "You knew that Eli was my soul mate."

"I thought he was for a while." Jake replied. "It was when we first started dating and he was my lab partner in Bio. He had to roll up his sleeves for the lab and saw that he had the same amount of days that you did. I thought that he was your soul mate for about a month and so I did everything I could to make sure he wouldn't come near you."

"What did you do to him?" I asked.

"I just got into fights with him."

"I remember that. You said that Drew was teaching you kick-boxing moves."

"I lied to protect you."

"What made you stop fighting him?"

"I realized that there was absolutely no way that he be your soul mate. Degrassi is big but not that big. I thought that you two happened to have the same amount of days left but your times were off."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Jake shrugged. "I guess I felt like it didn't matter anymore. You were mine and he wasn't going anywhere near you nor was he your soul mate."

"Jake—"

"I did that because I care about you, Clare." Jake said as he took a step towards me. "I can't help that I'm jealous that you're starting to spend so much time with your soul mate."

Despite my best efforts, I smiled. "Just because I am spending time with Eli doesn't change my opinion of him, or you for that matter." I rose up on my toes and kissed him. "You are my soul mate."

Jake grinned and kissed me. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Come on, I'll make sure you don't get a detention for being late to class."

"Thanks, can we get lunch today?"

"Sorry, Babe, I already promised the boys I would go with them."

"Oh, okay. Can we have our redo-date tonight?"

"Sure, Babe."

…

I turned around in my chair to face Eli before class started

"So, what did you think of my paper?"

He winced slightly and clicked his tongue. "Well, it's—"

"Poorly written, full of grammatical errors, and horribly boring." I finished for him.

"The title is nicely centered." He offered.

I glared at him for a moment and then groaned and put my head in my hands. "What am I going to do? Mrs. Dawes is going to make me go back to regular grade twelve English if she reads this."

"So skip." Eli replied.

I took my head out of my hands, "What?"

"You don't have to turn in your paper if you skip class."

"But I've never skipped before."

Eli smirked. "Well then you have to skip. You have to have the full high school experience before you graduate."

I glanced at the clock. It was only two more minutes until the bell would ring and I would have to hand in my wretched paper.

"You know what? I'll do it." I said.

I grabbed my bag and walked towards the door. I paused at the doorframe and looked back at Eli. One of his eyebrows was raised and his smirk was still dominating his face.

"Well, are you coming?" I asked.

Eli pretended to think it over and swiftly picked up his stuff and met me at the door. "After you, Edwards."

I walked out the side door that was next to the classroom and raced towards Eli's hearse. Eli past me quickly and slid into the drivers seat. He reached over and unlocked the passenger door for me. He pulled the hearse into reverse immediately after I had shut the door.

…

"Come on, Clare. I didn't skip so that I could work on homework."

"Well I did. I'm sorry that not all of us can be as tuned in and open to share our emotions as you can, Eli."

Eli laughed and took a sip of his coffee. " What can I say, I'm a gifted individual."

"Well, superstar, how about you share the wealth and give me a suggestion on what to write."

Eli cut his eyes over to mine. "I already told you."

"Eli there's no way I could write about that."

"Why not?"

"It's too personal."

"That's what makes writing so special." Eli replied. "It is literally the author's heart written plainly for the public to read and judge. It is what separates it from every other art form."

"That may be, but I want to be a journalist, not an author."

Eli shrugged. "Why not be both?"

"I don't want to put my heart on the paper. I want to put the facts."

Eli raised his eyebrow. "Suit yourself."

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. "I can't think of anything right now. Can I work on this during theatre?"

Eli nodded. "All I have to do is cast Edmond's parents and his best friend Aaron. After that I have to talk to Miss O about the music she and that freshman girl Maya composed."

"Thank you. I'll stay in the theatre in case you do need me though."

"Okay."

"Can we leave? I don't want to be late for the class after lunch. Skipping one class was bad enough."

Eli smirked. "You are a horrible rebel, Edwards."

I lifted my chin in the air. "I'll take that as a compliment."

…

We didn't talk on the way back to school. Eli's music filled the silence and I found myself actually enjoying the music, despite my original judgments of screamo and punk rock music.

We walked into Degrassi slowly. Eli drove well over the speed limit so we had an extra ten minutes to kill before fourth period began.

"So what's your next class?" Eli asked.

"Calculus." I replied.

"Ouch. With who?"

"Johnson."

"At least you have a good teacher. I feel like Mrs. Larkin will someday fall asleep from her own teaching."

I laughed. "I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Oh but it is." Eli replied. "Johnson's class is close to my locker, I'll walk with you to your locker and we can walk in that direction together."

"Sounds good."

Eli waited while I exchanged books from my backpack and locker. He was thinking about making a few changes to the script. They sounded like good ideas, but I told him that some of those ideas might distract the audience from the bigger picture. He said he would keep it in mind, but would try to see if he could find a happy medium while he was looking over it tonight.

We turned the corner to the hall where Eli's locker was. I was looking down at my phone to see if Jake had replied to any of my texts. It was as if he had grown more distant despite our talk in the garden today

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Eli stop walking. I looked up at him questioningly and was surprised to see him already looking down at me. His expression was soft and his teasing eyes had a hint of remorse to them.

I watched him swallow hard before speaking. "Clare, I'm so—"

I followed his gaze and saw Jake pushing Becky Baker against a locker and making out with her.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Whelp. This is embarrassing. Sorry I went on hiatus for so long! I'll try to do better.**

**I did get some comments on my choosing Becky Baker instead of Katie and frankly it's because I forgot about Katie and Becky was the first girl that popped into my head. But don't worry I know how to fix it so that it will still be true to Becky's character.**

Chapter seven:

"Jake?" I choked out.

Jake pulled away from Becky and looked at me.

"Clare, I'm so—"

I shook my head and blinked away tears that were forming in my eyes. "How could you?"

"Clare—"

I turned around and ran down the hall away from Jake. I just needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. I went into the nearest bathroom and locked myself in one of the stalls.

How could Jake do this to me? I thought he loved me. We were supposed to beat the system. We were supposed to prove the matchmakers wrong.

I head the door open and footsteps in the bathroom and I bit my lip so that the person wouldn't hear me cry.

"Clare? Are you okay?"

I felt anger rush inside me and I swung the stall door open.

"Are you really going to ask me that, Becky?"

Becky dropped her gaze to the floor. "I know you're upset, Clare, but—"

"But what, Becky?" I interrupted. "Honestly, if I would have had the slightest clue that Jake was cheating on me I never would have guessed that it would be you."

"Clare—"

"We were in Jesus club together, Becky! We went to the same church camp for years. How could you do this?"

"It just happened, Clare." Becky spoke calmly and kept an arms length of space between us. "And just because I'm a Christian doesn't mean I can't make mistakes. I know it was wrong to start this relationship before you guys officially broke up."

"We weren't going to break up. We were going to stay together."

I could feel the lump in my throat threating to break into a choked sob but I swallowed hard.

"He told me that it was only a matter of time before the two of you broke up."

"Aren't your parents angry? That you are cheating on your soul mate?"

Becky glared at me. "Don't try to make me feel guilty for being unfaithful. I haven't met my soul mate yet and I still have three more years left. I will be single long before I meet him. Unlike you, you are unfaithful to Eli."

"Eli's not even my friend!"

Becky shrugged. "Could've fooled Jake and I on Friday when the two of you were running lines."

"You saw that?"

Becky nodded. I came in to beg for the role of June. It was obvious there was more going on between the two of you than you were leading on—"

"There is nothing going on between us"

"Your eyes spoke a different story." Becky replied. "So Jake took me out on the date he had planned for you instead. We had been flirting a bit in Chemistry and he called me when you two had your first fight about Eli so we both knew it would happen eventually. Jake saw me at the dot and stopped to talk after he dropped you off at your house on Friday. One thing led to another and he took me out on our first date on Saturday. We've been practically inseparable since."

"But he said he was with Drew Friday night."

Becky rolled her eyes. "He lied, Clare."

"I don't understand."

"It's simple, Clare. He doesn't love you anymore."

I felt a tear roll down my cheek and I blinked quickly to stop any more from coming.

"What makes you think he won't do the same to you, Becky."

Becky shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. I know we aren't going to work out because we aren't soul mates. I just want to have a little fun before I meet mine."

Becky turned her back to me and walked towards the door. She paused before leaving and turned to face me again.

"I'm sorry that you had to find out this way, Clare, but lets face it, you should be with Eli. He is your soul mate after all."

Becky left and I immediately went back into the stall and cried again. I loved Jake. I loved him so much and he didn't care about me. How could I have been so stupid? He had been so distant lately. I should've known he was cheating on me.

I head the door open again and rolled my eyes. "Go away Becky."

The footsteps continued towards me and I realized that it sounded too heavy to be Becky's dainty high heels. I put my face in my hands and continued to cry. The footsteps stopped in front of my door.

"I'm fine. I promise. Please go away." I mumbled.

When I didn't hear the girl move from her spot I took my hands from my face and reached for the door.

"Could you please just leave me alone?" I begged as I opened the door.

"Not until I know that you're okay."

I jerked my head up. "Eli? What are you doing in the girl's room?"

"Making sure that you are okay."

"But you're in the girl's room."

Eli smirked slightly. "Good observation."

I looked down at the ground. "Why are you here?"

Eli took my chin between his two fingers. "Because you are in here."

I sighed. "You don't have to be here. I'll be fine."

"Of course you will." Eli replied. "Because you are better than that asshole."

I smiled and rolled my eyes.

"There. Right there. You are going to keep that smile as you walk out of this bathroom and you are going to act like nothing happened. You are going to act like he is nothing to you."

"But I can't—"

"You can, Clare." Eli said firmly. "You only have two more classes."

"The next one is with him."

"So you cannot skip it. You are going to dry your tears and let me walk you to that class. You will sit in front of that cheating scum of the earth and then I will be there to walk you to theatre. Show him exactly what he lost."

"Why are you doing this? I thought you hated me."

"You are a good person, Clare and even though we don't have the same opinions on hardly anything I will always be on the same side of the person who was wronged. Now come on."

Eli backed away from the door and stood slightly behind me as I retouched my makeup in the mirror. With a trembling hand I put on my pink lipgloss. I sighed and put my hands on both sides of the sink.

"I can't do this, Eli."

"Yes you can. Come on, Clare."

Eli gently turned my shoulders toward the door and walked me out with his hand on he small of my back. The bell rang as soon as the door shut behind us. I felt my chest get heavy and my heart pick up speed as the hallway started to fill with students. I felt like everyone was looking at Eli and I.

"Take a deep breath and smile." Eli whispered in my ear. "Act like nothing's wrong."

I nodded and did as he said.

"Good. Now come on, time to go to class."

Eli walked me down the hallway and to my class. He paused by the door and pulled me closer to him. "Jake's in there. He's watching us right now and he looks furious. Sit in your seat and don't talk to him until he talks to you. Speak calmly and never look him in the eye. It will drive him crazy. I'll get out of class early and be here when the bell rings, okay?"

I took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll be fine."

Eli smirked. "Of course you will. You're Clare Edwards."

….

Class with Jake was horrible. I couldn't talk to him or even look at him. Everyone in the classroom watched us carefully. I knew they were waiting for Jake to blow up in anger and for me to burst into tears over the entire situation.

True to his word, Eli was waiting for me in the doorway a minute before the bell rang. I caught myself sighing in relief; at least I wouldn't have to talk to Jake for the rest of the day.

"Clare, wait." Jake said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him. "We need to talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about Jake." I hated myself for letting him hear my voice break. "You cheated on me with Becky. We are done."

I pushed past him and quickly walked past Eli as well.

"So I'm taking it that the class didn't go well." He said when he had caught up with me.

"Aren't you observant." I muttered.

"Don't worry. You can sit in one of the dressing rooms and cry or scream or whatever you feel like doing. They are soundproof so you should be good."

"I'll be fine." I muttered. "I'll work on that stupid English paper. God could this day get any worse."

"It's likely to happen." Eli said. "My mother invited your family over for dinner tonight. She wants to meet my soul mate."

I groaned. "I haven't even told my mom that you are my soul mate."

"I'm pretty sure she knows."

I glanced down at my wrist. My bracelet was slowly blinking red and Eli's was once again blinking faster than mine.

"I guess so."

Eli nudged my arm with his elbow. "Hey, it can't be that bad. My mom is a horrible cook but she'll probably buy something from the store and claim it to be her own."

"My mother called you guys eccentric heathens when she first met your mom."

"Or this could be a disaster." Eli laughed. "If it gets bad the two of us can go outside or something, okay?"

I nodded and we walked in silence the rest of the way to the theater. I sat beside Eli and pulled out my spiral and he took out a copy of the script to prepare for the auditions.

"So, what do you want from all of this?" I asked Eli.

He turned his head to look at me and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You must want something in return for being so nice to me. What do you want?"

Eli frowned. "Contrary to what you may have heard or think I am not evil. Jake was an ass and he doesn't deserve you crying over him."

Eli turned his head towards the stage and yelled. "If you're auditioning for the role of Aaron get onstage. NOW."

I ran my fingers through my tangled hair. "You're right. I'm sorry, you have been extremely kind to me. I'm sorry that I took out my anger and frustration on you."

Eli continued to look at the stage but I saw a smirk take over his face. "Anytime, Edwards."


	8. Chapter 8

**An: I had to reload this chapter because there was a mistake that could not go uncorrected. Sorry this is kinda short (It's only 1500 words). I'll make sure the next one has at least 2,000! Enjoy!**

Chapter eight:

Dinner with the Goldsworthy's was not the disaster that I thought it would be.

It was much, much worse.

My mother was appalled when she learned that the Cece and Bullfrog (they insisted I called them that since I was now going to be apart of the family) were in fact unfaithfuls. They had both met their soul mates and decided that the matchmakers were wrong. So they ran away and eloped when they found the first minister that married unfaithful lovers. Whenever a coworker asks about their watch, they simply tell them that their soul mate died, and it's hard subject for them to talk about.

I have never seen two people so much in love before.

Cece laughed at all of Bullfrog's jokes and he looked at her like she was the only person in the room.

But that wasn't enough for my mother.

Before we had even started eating my mother was explaining to them how wrong they were. How they should call up their actual soul mates and marry them. My father rolled his eyes and sighed. He got up from the table and walked into the living room. Cece and Bullfrog looked at my mother with pity in their eyes.

All my mother wanted to talk about was Eli and I's upcoming wedding.

"We should have it the week after they graduate. What school is Elijah going to again?"

Bullfrog smirked at Eli when he flinched at the use of his full name. "Elijah is going to NYU to study film."

My mother scrunched up her nose. "Well, that is hardly the sensible thing to study, especially when he is going to have a family to support in the American economy."

"And when exactly do you think they will start a family?" Cece asked.

My mother shrugged. "Maybe they could get pregnant during their first or second year of college. Then they could have their second child after they graduate."

Eli choked on his water and I felt myself blush at the thought of having a child with Eli. We were barely friends, how in the world were we supposed to bring a child in this world?

"Well I guess it will all depend on whether or not they actually want to get married." Cece said nonchalantly.

My mother rolled her eyes. "As if they had a choice in the matter."

"I think they do."

My mother glared at Cece and I felt myself shrink in the chair. I would rather be standing in front of Jake and Becky than be at this dinner table.

"What do you mean?"

Cece smiled. "Bullfrog and I didn't really have a connection with our soul mates, and I know I'm much happier with him than I ever would have been with my supposed soul mate, Chester. I don't think we should force our kids into marriage. My parents did that and I have resented them so much. I think I would die if my baby boy ever resented me because I forced him to be with someone he doesn't love."

My mother once again rolled her eyes. "They could learn to get along. I don't want my Clare to be considered a heathen or something as disgusting as an unfaithful."

The room was deadly silent. Cece's smile had left her face as she stared at my mother.

Eli cleared his throat. "As much fun as it has been getting to know the in-laws, Clare and I need to work on some details for the play. We'll be in my room."

I nodded and got up to follow Eli.

"Thank you so much for dinner, Cece, both tonight and last Friday. It was wonderful."

Cece took her eyes off my mother for a moment and smiled at me. "Of course, sweet girl."

"Elijah, when you go to your room, please keep your door open." My mother demanded.

Eli raised an eyebrow "Why?"

"So I will know that the two of you aren't doing something that you shouldn't."

I could feel my cheeks burning and saw Eli trying to hide a smirk.

"Well why the hell not?" Cece yelled, her outburst caused both my mother and I to jump in surprise. "They are getting married against their will, why not let them have some practice in before the big night. Don't worry about using a condom, Elijah, because apparently you are going to be a father in a year. What better way to ensure that you and your soul mate will get married by knocking her up?"

"Aaanndd that is our cue to get the hell out of this house." Eli said as he gently pulled on the crook of my elbow to lead me outside to his hearse.

"I am so sorry Eli, my mother is very…"

"Traditional?" Eli finished.

"Exactly."

Eli smirked. "It's fine. My mother is very—"

"Non traditional?"

"Exactly. I know my mother well enough that she is about to get into a screaming match with yours. We definitely don't want to be there to see that."

"So I guess we can just go to The Dot to wait it out?"

"Sounds good, we can start going over your lines for the play while we are there."

"What?"

Eli smirked as he opened the car door for me. "Surely you didn't think I had forgotten about my star?"

"I was hoping that you were joking."

Eli shut my door and ran over to the driver's side and got into the car.

"Edwards, you should know I never joke."

I rolled my eyes. "Noted."

Eli turned the car on and turned down the stereo that blared his music. "You were the best June and you had no ulterior motives. I know that most of the girls that tried out only did so because they know that I got into the film school at NYU. They think that if they are in one of my plays someone will have the chance to have an agent in the audience that will make them a superstar."

I shook my head. "Eli, I'm not a star. I don't like being in the spotlight. I would much rather just be the nameless stage manager who gets absolutely no credit at the end of the play."

Eli smirked. "You know, you really suck at trying to convince me that you aren't perfect for the role of June. June hated the spotlight too. She thought that the desire to be famous was disgusting."

"June was real?"

Eli's mouth dropped open for a moment and he gripped the steering wheel tightly. "No, of course she wasn't real."

I nodded and the conversation died. I looked out the window and watched the city lights flash by.

Eli pulled into The Dot's parking lot and waited for me to get out before we walked towards the front door. Eli opened the door for me and we ordered our drinks before sitting down.

"So you haven't given me an answer yet."

I chewed on my lip. "Eli, I don't know. I don't think I can be a good actress."

Eli put his elbows on the table and leaned closer to me. "Clare. I know exactly what I am looking for and when you were reading lines it struck me how absolutely perfect you are."

I looked him in the eye and blushed. Eli leaned away from me slightly and cleared his throat.

"That is, how absolutely perfect you are for the role of June."

I nodded and looked down at my watch, which was strangely blinking a beat faster than normal.

"Of course."

"Look at me, Clare."

I raised my head and looked at Eli. His dark green eyes had lost all traces of teasing and pride and had taken on an appearance of sincerity. I felt myself relax under his gaze and let out a breath that I had not known I had taken in.

"When you read June's lines you had this authentic vulnerability that all the other girls had missed. You are perfect for the role of June because you have felt what she has felt, you have fallen in love with someone that is not your sole mate and did so willingly."

I bit my lip and looked down at my coffee, which was slowing losing it's warmth.

"Edmond didn't betray June."

"Some would say that." Eli replied. "Edmond didn't cheat on June, but he wasn't there when she needed him most."

"He's not to blame for her death."

"You don't think so?"

Eli's voice had once again taken on the softness it had when we were running lines. When I looked into his eyes he looked sad, and this time he avoided my gaze by looking out the window.

"He couldn't have known June was going to run away regardless of whether or not Edmond was going with her."

"He should have died with her."

"I think June wouldn't have wanted that."

Eli set his jaw for a moment, and then let out a sigh. "I guess we'll never know, huh?"

I smiled, "Maybe you'll find it in you to write a sequel."

Eli smirked in return. "Maybe"


End file.
